Parties Take Up New Education Policy Debate

For two years, Republicans and Democrats debated whether there
should be a federal Department of Education. The Democrats won.

Now the two sides are embroiled in a fight over exactly what the
department can and should be doing.

Their debate is focused on three issues: national testing, which is
being championed by the Clinton administration, and block grants and
private school choice, both backed primarily by Republicans. Each side
is using public relations and legislative threats to insist that its
philosophy prevail. And, so far, neither side is giving in.

"One of the most important issues for Republicans today is education
reform," Jim Nicholson, the chairman of the Republican National
Committee, said at a Sept. 25 meeting with reporters. The breakfast was
one of a series of Washington events last month designed to highlight
the achievements of GOP governors and the initiatives of the party's
House and Senate leaders.

"It's become clear that there are some who are waging an effort to
undermine our commitment to public education and our public schools,"
President Clinton said Sept. 30 in one of several public statements
he's made recently to promote his proposals and rebuke his
opponents.

Because testing, block grants, and choice play integral roles in two
annual spending bills, the debates are likely to come to a head this
month. Congress last week extended the deadline for passing
appropriations bills until Oct. 23.

Already, the rhetoric is escalating. Mr. Clinton is promising to
veto any spending bill that doesn't allow for his administration's
proposed voluntary new national tests, which most Republicans strongly
oppose, or that creates school vouchers or bundles most federal
education spending into block grants.

And Democrats in the Senate say they are willing to use the
filibuster--a procedure that allows debate to continue so long as 41
senators oppose a bill--on any measure that conflicts with the
president's agenda. Republicans are making the same threats if they
don't get their way.

What the People Want

The start of this year's debate dates back to 1995. The newly
installed GOP Congress called for the elimination of the Education
Department and drastic cuts in its programs. To the vocal consternation
of Democrats, several Republican leaders said publicly that their goal
was to gradually eliminate the federal role in the education.

That message continued into last year's presidential election when
GOP nominee Bob Dole's platform called for the department's elimination
and promoted a school choice agenda. ("Dole, Clinton at Sharp Odds on Education,"
Sept. 4, 1996.)

But after Mr. Dole's defeat and the loss of eight Republican seats
in the House, the party decided to pursue a more activist education
agenda.

The GOP "is keying into what the American public is asking for,"
said Ed Goeas, the president of the Tarrance Group, an Alexandria, Va.,
polling firm that advises Republicans. "They're focusing on some things
that the federal government can do."

The cornerstones of the agenda are school choice and block grants,
two mainstays of Republican policy.

Last month, the Senate approved a plan to put almost all federal
K-12 programs into a $11 billion block grant that would send money
directly to school boards with few federal requirements.

"Bypassing federal and state bureaucracies, which siphon millions of
dollars and attach regulatory strings, means more authority and more
money for local educators," Sen. Slade Gorton, R-Wash., the plan's
sponsor, said in a national radio address Sept. 20.

That argument is close to what focus-group participants representing
the general public are saying they want, Mr. Goeas said.

But it's not what President Clinton wants. With the backing of his
fellow Democratic in Congress, he has threatened to veto any spending
bill that includes the block grant provision. That veto threat alone
complicates the appropriations process.

In a separate series of legislative initiatives and public relations
events, Republicans also are promoting school choice aggressively.
Throughout September, Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., spoke
on school choice at congressional hearings and press
conferences.

Choice Agenda

The legislative focus for the issue is the annual spending bill for
the District of Columbia. The House Appropriations Committee last week
approved a $7 million initiative that would grant $3,200 scholarships
to K-12 students in Washington that could be used to help pay tuition
at private schools, including religious schools, or public schools in
neighboring suburban districts. The Senate removed a similar program
from its companion bill after Democrats recruited 42 votes to continue
debate until the provision was taken out.

After President Clinton criticized the voucher plan on Sept. 30,
House Majority Leader Dick Armey, R-Texas, fired back with a staple of
Republicans' recent rhetoric: Give parents control.

"No political grandstanding can justify denying low-income children
the same opportunity to attend a safe school with rigorous academics
and real discipline," he said in a statement.

Democratic Response

Mr. Clinton and Democrats responded that their agenda would help
public schools improve by giving them tools to address specific
problems. "Instead of abandoning our schools, we should continue to
support proven reform efforts," the president said Sept. 30.

The Democrats defend federal programs designed to address specific
needs, such as Title I, which aims to raise the academic achievement of
the nation's lowest-performing students, and the Safe and Drug-Free
Schools and Communities Program, which gives grants for school efforts
to combat drugs and violence.

What's more, the Democrats contend, Mr. Clinton's plan for new
national tests of 4th graders' reading skills and 8th graders' math
abilities will give school districts and parents yet another tool to
know how well their children are learning,.

"National education tests will help parents get a more realistic
picture of how their children are doing compared to other children
across the country," Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., said in a statement to
announce that 42 Democrats are committed to filibustering a bill that
does not allow the controversial plan to move forward. "They will also
provide clues about how we can better education the next
generation."

But it's the Republicans--joined by many liberal House
Democrats--who are digging in their heels on testing. House members
voted 295-195 on Sept. 16 to support an appropriations amendment that
blocked test funding. Some Democrats said they don't want the tests
until the federal government does more to address economic and social
needs in inner cities.

Ground Rules for Posting
We encourage lively debate, but please be respectful of others. Profanity and personal attacks are prohibited. By commenting, you are agreeing to abide by our user agreement.
All comments are public.